Doll
by RavenHeart101
Summary: When they were younger Regulus always strived to be exactly like his older brother. As they got older they grew closer. And then Sirius left for Hogwarts and everything changed.


Doll

By: RavenHeart101

Summary: When they were younger Regulus always strived to be exactly like his older brother. As they got older they grew closer. And then Sirius left for Hogwarts and everything changed.

* * *

**"_At first it was my brother's songwriting and I was just doing what everyone told me.__" __Gwen Stefani_**

Walburga Black always prided herself in being a Pureblood woman of high standing. She also prided herself in the existence of her oldest son, Sirius. Her little Sirius Orion Black, the heir to the Black name and fortune who was growing up perfectly, even more perfect than anyone could have anticipated. The boy was a mere two years old and Walburga could tell that her little boy was going to become something. She knew, given the fact of who the Blacks were, that Sirius would only help in the War that was beginning to be whispered about and would help their side win. Just by looking at him she could tell that he would be strong willed and important.

Then she had another child.

Regulus Orion Black was nothing like his brother. Walburga did not pride herself with the existence of him. She hadn't wanted him, and, in fact, from the moment he was born wanted nothing to do with him. But it wouldn't be good for a woman of her standing to throw him into a pile of rubbish, so to say. Therefore, Walburga found herself keeping the despicable child. The child that she knew would be nothing more than a disappointment.

Her "premonition" about her youngest child was beginning to prove its point. As was the one for her eldest.

Sirius was the pride and joy of the Black family. He was everything they could have ever wanted. And Regulus… was not. It wasn't as though he didn't have any redeeming qualities, the boy was rather good at the few Dark magic spells he was taught and he picked up reading particularly fast, it was just that he wasn't nearly as spectacular as his elder sibling. Honestly, it was very unfortunate for the young child, who noticed the favor being placed on his brother immediately and wanted to see if he could be just as spectacular as the one he looked up to. So Regulus started copying him.

When Sirius would learn a new spell Regulus would demand to be taught the same spell.

When Sirius would get new clothes Regulus would get the same sort.

When Sirius would finish a book, Regulus would beg the House Elves to read him the same story.

It was only when Sirius caught onto the rather long game of "shadow" that he started teaching Regulus himself. Sirius was eight then, and Regulus was a mere six. The two had become irrevocably close and their parents had noticed. It did irk Walburga some, but Orion decided it might be helpful for Regulus to follow around his brother, so they did nothing to stop it.

The two Blacks would play outside of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black in a manner that could only be described as Dark. Since Sirius was the heir to the family name, Walburga had insisted that Orion buy her prized son a sort of buffer wand until his was old enough to go to Hogwarts. Therefore, the elder Black could easily learn magic without ever getting in trouble for displaying it. Sirius only saw it fit to teach his little brother the same magic he had, and since they only had one wand they would share and learn and teach on it together.

Sirius had a habit of making Dark dolls for his little brother, who would love to see them run up to him and hug him. Regulus could even have conversations with them. And, soon, the younger had learned how to make them himself. He hadn't actually accomplished "making" one yet, but he knew the basics. Regulus was willing to try it out too, but Sirius had refused to let him until the elder boy knew for sure that he could do it.

But, soon it was Sirius's eleventh birthday and his Hogwarts letter had come in the mail. Regulus understood the whole: "you can't go to Hogwarts until you are eleven years of age" thing that his mother spewed at him when he asked if he could see the letter. Regulus also understood that it would mean that he would have to wait two full years until he could go to the school his brother had been antagonizing over for the past month or so. That, in some way, had broken the younger Black's heart. But, he figured, he could make something of the near year he would have to go without his brother's presence. If only to make Sirius happy and not have to deal with Walburga's ever present glare in his direction.

Therefore, Regulus learned to bare the moments the was stuck with only his mother and the House Elves with a grin. The younger boy had even snuck into Sirius's old room and stolen his old buffer wand to use as his own for practice. He took a number of books out of the Black Library in order to learn things to show his brother when he came back. Excitement had filled the younger Black's movements for almost a year at the thought of how proud Sirius would be of him. At how much he would learn once Sirius came back!

He wrote notes to his brother in the book that his father had spelled for them in order to keep contact before Sirius had left. Regulus loved how his brother would answer him every time he sent them. And then the answered began to lessen. Sirius's answers became less than paragraphs, sometimes even dwindling to one word. But Regulus didn't worry. His brother was most likely getting caught up in school work.

Walburga was angry with Sirius, for the most part. Which was the most peculiar thing Regulus had ever encountered, for it was usually him at the end of his mother's scathing insults. However, he was only nine years old and he couldn't seem to think much on that matter and could only focus on the thoughts of how he was going to surprise his brother with his very own Dark doll when he came back.

Regulus had everything sorted out. The Dark doll was actually the best one anyone had created, and the nine year old had spent practically his whole year on it. The body was made out of straw and wool and anything else Regulus could have found just lying about in the house. The doll's clothing was a patchwork of all of Regulus's favorite outfits, a whole shirt having been sacrificed in order to create it for his brother. The face and the hair were the only things that would surface, once Regulus would drop his own blood onto the doll. Which he was planning on doing the day Sirius returned.

And there he was!

Regulus had placed the blade of the knife closer and closer to his hand, and he knew it was going to hurt. He jutted it quick and viciously against the pale skin that sat on his palm and almost watched in fascination as the blood rose to the air as though it had been suffocating inside of him.

One drop.

Two drops.

"Regulus stop!" Just as the third drop hit the dolls face his brother rushed into the room and gripped Regulus's hand in his own. The fierceness in Sirius's eyes the younger Black didn't recognize. _Sirius_, Regulus didn't recognize.

"But _why_?" But, more to the point, Regulus was furious with Sirius for interrupting him. Now he would have to start all over again!

"It's evil." Sirius said it as though everything had been a conspiracy.

"How could it be evil? You did it!"

"It just is!" Sirius was still gripping his wrist harshly. The amount of pressure on the appendage was causing him to feel his own pulse. Tears sprung to his eyes and he shoved his brother away from him. "It's _Dark_ Reg."

"_We're_ Dark!" Their parents were watching in a small amount of interest as the two siblings fought. But Regulus felt betrayed. Sirius was supposed to be proud of him! Not disappointed!

"No! Reg-"

"I did this for _you_!" And then Regulus grabbed the doll and held him to his chest as he sprinted up the stairs and slammed the door to his bedroom. His brother had changed. And Regulus no longer wanted to be like the Sirius standing down stairs.

"_**I so desperately wanted to be Mr. Somebody. Instead, I was the little brother, included to a point."**__**Charlie Sheen**_

It had been two years since Walburga's pride and glory turned into her best kept secret. It had been two years since Walburga and Orion had noticed the potential that lied in their youngest child. Where Regulus was once the child of disappointment he was now the child of hope and pride. Where Sirius was once the child of hope and pride he was now the child of disappointment. The change was drastic and it happened overnight.

The brother's relationship had quickly deteriorated to a startling amount of liking. But, whereas it used to be a relationship full of love and care it was now one of only one truly trying. Surprisingly, that child was Sirius.

It wasn't that Regulus didn't care for him anymore. It was just that when his brother had changed so had he. Regulus no longer wanted to so firmly want to _be him_. He wanted to be who Sirius _used_ to be, not who he was. He still listened to what Sirius had to say, but he no longer cared to be taught the magic his brother was offering to teach. It was as though Sirius wasn't needed any longer.

After the first year Sirius gave up trying.

He returned back to Hogwarts in surprisingly good moods, going as far to yell a goodbye to his younger sibling. Regulus had replied in turn and had made the earnest promise to write. Neither could really explain what had passed between the two of them at that moment, but both had a feeling that they would actually converse through this horrid school year.

Regulus did know what had caused such a change in his brother; the eldest Black had been sorted into Gryffindor, the enemy house. Or so his mother had told him. He also knew that Sirius had made friends with some children his age that neither of his parents approved of. Sirius had grown close to one James Potter, which while his family despised was the best choice out of Gryffindors in his mother's opinion. "A horrid family, but at least pure in blood." But then there was Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin. Both of which no one had ever heard of before. Walburga had informed him that Orion had known a John Lupin, but that the man had horrible taste in women, having married a muggle widow. Those three had supposedly corrupted his brother.

Regulus didn't believe it one bit.

But he did know that Sirius was still the heir to the Black family name and fortune. And, honestly, that didn't bother him at all. What did irk him was the fact that while his mother was busy doting on him she felt the need to point out that small fact every other minute. He also couldn't help but notice how she would always be talking about Sirius. His feelings for his older brother quickly shifted from complete loyalty and want to something he had never expected.

Resentment.

Regulus did admit that he had always been somewhat jealous of his elder brother, but it was never to this extent. He had never wanted to be Sirius so much as to go to such extremes that he did that school year. Regulus found himself becoming coy in his speaking and cunning in his thinking. The young Black searched for every possible way to prove to his mother he wasn't only just as good as his brother, but he was better.

His desperate need of approval was something he didn't like.

Regulus didn't like that he was willing to change himself for his mother.

He didn't like that he was willing to become someone else.

He didn't like that he was losing his brother.

He didn't like that he had lost himself.

It wasn't that Regulus had ever really been his own person anyway. The boy had never really given being his own person much thought. It had never occurred to him that he was just like the person he was trying not to be like. And then his thoughts strayed once more to his older brother.

Sirius had his own problems, but the elder Black went out of his way to answer every one of Regulus's messages. They spoke about things of little importance, Regulus learning more and more about the stranger that had become his sibling as the days past. Sirius had always had a passion for sports and Regulus felt his jealousy spurring through him when Sirius informed him of his placement of the Gryffindor House Team as Beater. He also felt the need to tell him that James Potter was now a Chaser for the team. Regulus didn't feel the need to tell him that he didn't care about James Potter.

One day Sirius's notes had showed up in the journal and Regulus had barely spared them a glance until the day was nearly over. And there, at the top, was a detailed list about some poor person's life. Regulus recognized the way his brother was writing, a long list and little notes off to the side of them. Sirius was trying to figure something out. He had taught his younger brother the same method a few years ago.

Regulus, luckily, wasn't nearly as thick as his brother tended to be and took a closer look at what the boy had written down. He underlined a few of the important notes, knowing that had his brother not asked for help he had probably forgotten that the list had traveled over to him. After reading a few of the listed problems Regulus had figured it out. A werewolf. Whatever his brother was trying to figure out the answer was a werewolf. He had contemplated scribbling it down for his brother to read, but then the intense resentment was beginning to build in his chest once again. If the elder wasn't even going to ask for his help he wasn't about to offer it. They passed no more notes for the rest of the school year.

Sirius returned home worse than he had been the last year.

The elder Black had changed in physical appearance as well as mental. He was wearing muggle clothing and he wore his hair down to the point that it reached his chin. Whenever Sirius and he would try to have a conversation the elder would always bring up either James or Remus and sometimes even Pete. Soon, it annoyed the younger boy to the point of yelling. "Did you do that with James too?" It was rather immature of him, but Regulus was past the point of caring.

Sirius paused in his telling of a prank he had pulled on the school, and Regulus thought with a small amount of hope that Sirius had caught on. "Yeah. He is my best friend." Sirius had smiled at him then, almost as though he was proud of him for catching on. Regulus almost felt like slamming down his fist so loud that it would have caused an earthquake. Instead, he listened silently. And soon his jealousy and resentment for his brother was turning into jealousy and resentment for James Potter and Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. All of who, it seemed, knew his brother better than he had ever thought he did.

"_The younger brother must help to pay for the pleasures of the elder." Jane Austen, __Mansfield Park_

Walburga was almost worried when it came time to send her youngest off to Hogwarts, afraid that he would turn out to be as much a disappointment as his brother. And it was beginning to seem as though her worries were well spent. When they had sent Regulus off on the Hogwarts Express at Platform nine and three quarters Sirius had literally taken it upon himself to attach to his brother like a parasite. He had latched onto the youngest Black's arm and had dragged him away to the compartment him and his disgraces of friends were sitting.

Regulus wasn't going to complain, feeling a sort of jealous happiness that Sirius was willing to share this aspect of his life with him. "You're going to love them!" Regulus was quite sure that he wasn't going to love them but he let Sirius prattle on and on as much as he wanted.

The compartment they entered held a small, fragile looking boy that was Sirius's age, a rather large boy and a boy that was so obviously James Potter, Regulus didn't even have to describe him. The mess of hair and glasses pretty much gave the boy away. And then he had been shoved into a seat and left to listen as his brother practically ignored his presence. His spirit sank into the deepest edges of his soul and Regulus quietly extracted himself from the group, wandering on his own on the train.

When he found Narcissa it was a godsend. The older girl was sitting with her elder sister, Lucius Malfoy, and a boy with long, greasy hair and gray eyes. "Oh! Hello Regulus!" Narcissa was the only person in their family who was relatively close to his age, running a year older than him and a year younger than Sirius.

"Got tired of dear brother's company then?" Bellatrix glanced up at him from her nails and sent him a cold smile. Regulus almost felt like leaving that compartment too, but Narcissa was gripping his arm in a gentler hold than Sirius had been and guiding him to the seat next to her.

"Be nice, Bella." Lucius Malfoy drawled, staring at him as though he was food. "Regulus can't choose who his family is." And he couldn't. Sirius had pointed that out to him too. Regulus didn't like how people always assumed that he didn't know things.

"Too true." Narcissa muttered before sending him a smile. "This is Severus Snape." She gestured to the greasy haired boy across from her, gaining only a glare for her efforts. "He's the son of-"

"Prince." Regulus felt proud of himself for realizing. All those times about hearing Sirius rant about this very person had given him an urge to find out just who this 'Severus Snape' person was.

"Precisely." She smiled at him again.

"Don't bother with him, Regulus." Bellatrix said in her arrogance. "He's a _horrible_ conversationalist." That did nothing but earn her a scathing look that was full of something close to hate. Regulus was reminded of Sirius. The old Sirius, not the new Sirius. The Sirius that he strived to become. But the fact that this Severus Snape wanted nothing to do with him just made him feel even more dejected than he had before.

When he was sorted into Slytherin he remembered watching as Sirius's face visibly fell. Somehow, he knew that their relationship had dwindled into nothing.

The fact that every teacher knew just who Sirius was had been expected. What wasn't expected was their blatant attempts to prove that he was either like Sirius or unlike Sirius. Both attempts were antagonizing and Regulus found himself hating the very fact that he was Sirius's unfortunate younger sibling.

Then the pranks started happening.

Regulus didn't understand why they were always being pulled on _his_ house. And he didn't understand why Sirius was doing them so _harshly_.

He didn't really find anything funny in being covered with slick red paint that was impossible to wash off for days on end.

He didn't find it funny that Sirius was going out of his way to start fights with people from his house.

He didn't find it funny that Sirius was pranking him.

He didn't find if funny that Sirius was ignoring him.

Regulus had called out to him. Once. Once he had been angry enough to march right up to the group of hot headed Gryffindors who had pranked his house and curse his brother into the ground. He didn't care that he got a detention for it. And he didn't care that Sirius tried to apologize a thousand times. If Sirius had tried one more time, he told himself, he would finally forgive his sibling. But Sirius didn't try one more time. He didn't care.

Regulus was sick and tired of picking up after Sirius. The Slytherins looked at him in a new light after that. He was no longer being ignored and hated by his own house. He was accepted into their ranks. He found himself making friends with Barty Crouch Junior and becoming irreversibly close to Narcissa. Bellatrix was never his favorite cousin, but she was now becoming less and less unpleasant. He began listening to what people were saying and he found himself rising in the ranks of his house. He knew Sirius was watching, a bit, from a distance and he knew that when they returned home he would have to hear from him. But he was really beginning to _not care_.

Well he cared. He cared enough to go to the Hospital Wing when Sirius had gotten hurt. But that was the last time Regulus had ever tried to be there for his brother when Sirius had his friends. "You _are_ all right, yeah?" It was James Potter and Regulus paused in his way to his brother's bed.

He heard Sirius snort. "I'll be fine." And then he chuckled. "Those Slytherins won't know what's coming for them, will they, James?"

He heard James Potter laugh. "Nope. If they did there wouldn't be anything they could do about it anyway."

"You got that one right!" He heard Sirius sigh, as though he was suddenly depressed by a random thought. "I hate it, though."

"Pranking the snakes?" Potter sounded confused. Regulus wondered why Sirius was making friends with idiots.

"No…" Sirius had paused in his thinking. "I hate the distance between us."

"Between you and the snakes?" Gosh, Potter really was thick!

"No!" Regulus had been on the receiving end of that yell many times. "Between me and Regulus."

"Your brother?" Potter finally seemed to understand and he too, himself, sighed loudly. "Don't worry about him, Sirius."

"How can I not worry about him? He's my brother!" A surge of hope filled Regulus's soul. Did Sirius still care for him?

"Not anymore he isn't." Potter must have stood up because Regulus heard the screeching of a chair being pushed back. "You said it yourself, Sirius. Regulus has changed. He's no longer the brother you grew up with. He's one of them now."

It was silent and then he heard Sirius push out a laugh. "You think you could be my brother from now on?"

Potter laughed again. "Already thought I was."

Regulus had run out of there, his heart thoughtfully broken. He felt like crying, but he wasn't a child no longer. He cried anyway. The tears were easy to come, flowing down his cheeks and landing on the Hogwarts hallway floor.

Sirius no longer wanted him.

Sirius thought he had changed.

Regulus didn't care anymore.

"_**Everyone knows that if you've got a brother, you're going to fight."**__**Liam Gallagher**_

The fights started in Regulus's second year. It seemed as though all the pent up animosity Sirius had been keeping inside himself when it came to his family and their views and values had been turned on him. At first Regulus didn't even bother fighting back, but, after awhile, it all became simply too obnoxious for Regulus to just ignore. Walburga wasn't worried one bit.

At first their fights were stupid and over such trivial things neither of them would remember why they started in the beginning. But as the year dragged on they only grew in intensity. Sirius started making digs at Regulus's friends and, therefore, Regulus dug right back. Then, it seemed, Sirius grew bored with their fights and him and his friends moved onto Severus Snape. Regulus would have felt bad for him if he didn't know just how violent his brother could get.

Once he had set Regulus's room on fire in pure anger. Sirius was grounded for a year and Regulus had returned the favor. Neither of them got in trouble for using magic outside of school, Orion having bribed the officials to ignore it. Just this once.

While Sirius started reading up on Light magic and cars and girls, Regulus started reading up on Dark magic. He never did it to smite his brother, no matter what Sirius implied. He never did it to make his mother and father happy, no matter what they said. He did it for himself. It made him feel…

Powerful.

Sirius stopped trying to talk to him in a kind manner when Regulus entered into his third year. Every single aggravation his brother had would always be taken out on either him or Severus Snape. Regulus responded in turn.

Their fights were harsh. But neither of them had either cursed, hexed, jinxed or beat one another. Until the Prank.

Regulus wasn't stupid, he had figured out a long time about who the werewolf in Sirius's pack of Marauders was. It obviously wasn't Peter Pettigrew or James Potter and Regulus knew for a fact it wasn't Sirius. So it really wasn't all that hard to come to the conclusion that the werewolf was Remus Lupin. The scrawny boy that Sirius seemed to have replaced Regulus with. It was all rather offensive.

Sirius was angry. He came storming down the hallway and it was Regulus's small amount of luck that seemingly placed him there. In the very hallway Sirius was barreling down. "What are you looking at Regulus?" Regulus, in fact, was looking at a book… since it was the library he had just left.

He was almost shocked, but Regulus had learned a year ago about his brother's random fits of anger. "A book, Sirius." He had also learned ways to dodge said anger. Obviously, being a smart ass wasn't one of them.

His brother slapped the book out of his hands and it landed on the floor with a clang. Regulus was slightly afraid of the bigger boy and he consciously dragged his wand out of it hiding place in his sleeve to rest at his side. "No shit, Regulus." The glint in Sirius's eye was terrifying and Regulus had never seen it directed it him with such a level it was being directed.

"I'm sorry?" He tried with a nervous smile. He bent down to pick up his book when Sirius made no move to pounce him. He was just about to turn his back on his brother when Sirius's fist hit him squarely in the face.

It was shock. The thing he felt was shock. And then it was pure, unadulterated anger. The words poured out his mouth faster than he could have interpreted them. Sirius went flying into the opposite wall and Regulus knew he had just used Dark magic but he couldn't bring himself to care. Sirius surged upwards, cursing him with his own Light spell. Regulus flew onto his back and his brother came sauntering towards him. He didn't know what Light spell Sirius had used, but it left his forehead bleeding and his mind foggy. He flinched when Sirius reached his side.

But instead of looking angry Sirius looked scared. Concerned.

Regulus forced himself upwards and left.

"Reggie wait!" Sirius had a sound of sadness in his voice and a sound of sorry. Regulus didn't even bother to turn around.

"For what, Sirius?" He hadn't meant to say a word. "Am I supposed to wait for the brother who left to return again? Because you certainly are not him."

"_We must love one another, yes, yes, that's all true enough, but nothing says we have to like each other. It may be the very recognition of all men as our brothers that accounts for the sibling rivalry, and even enmity, we have toward so many of them." Peter De Vries_

That next summer Sirius didn't pause in leaving. And Regulus wished that he didn't care. It wasn't as though they had much of a relationship since their last fight the year before, but Sirius was still his brother. He felt sort of…

Abandoned.

Sirius had abandoned him. He had left him at home so that he would have to deal with his parents and family by himself. Sirius hadn't said anything when he left. He had left a mumbled excuse and then he was gone. Regulus hadn't even known that he was thinking of leaving.

It was a month after Sirius had left that he got the letter. It was his brother's owl; Regulus always knew what Tri had looked like. Black with one random spot of white. He fitted Sirius, the younger Black thought with a small snort; Sirius being the huge white spot on the black canvas. The letter was on a piece of regular notebook paper, not parchment or scroll and the blue lines running across the white paper were almost ominous. The ink Sirius had used was blue, but he would always remember his brother's messy and yet elegant script. The letter said this:

Regulus,

Hey Reggie! How's everything going over there?

I'm just writing to check in with you.

I wanted to apologize for the way I left a month ago. Maybe we'll see each other again sometime.

I'm staying with the Potters for the remainder of the year and then maybe I'll get a flat of my own.

Well… I'll see you at school once it starts. Have fun spending the summer with the snakes, I know I'll be having fun with the lions.

-Sirius

Now that was it just plain out written. But Regulus knew his brother by now to know the coded meanings that were stated plainly in the letter.

Regulus,

Hey Reggie! How's everything going over there (Coded to mean: are you all right with just Mother and Father?)?

I'm just writing to check in with you (Are you sure you're all right?).

I wanted to apologize for the way I left a month ago (I'm sorry that I left you alone in that crap hole.). Maybe we'll see each other again sometime (I'll seek you out.).

I'm staying with the Potters for the remainder of the year (I'm all right, don't worry about me.) and then maybe I'll get a flat of my own (You could come live with me if you wanted).

Well… I'll see you at school once it starts (we need to talk!). Have fun spending the summer with the snakes (Don't let them corrupt you.), I know I'll be having fun with the lions (I miss you.).

-Sirius

Honestly, why his brother couldn't just write out those words made them feel less real. Regulus had scowled and shoved the paper in his pocket, vowing that he would burn it the next time he was angry enough at his family to not care of the consequences. Which probably wouldn't be happening any time soon.

Lucius Malfoy was proudly brandishing the Dark Mark when Regulus returned for his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A few weeks later Regulus's parents sent him a letter telling him that he was going to be joining the ranks of Lord Voldemort the moment he turned seventeen.

He was busy contemplating the thought of joining the Dark Lord when Sirius prowled into the Great Hall with his friends prancing after him. He wasn't angry at Sirius anymore. He was numb when it came to his brother.

Evan and Barty both glared over at the group of friends as they sat at the Gryffindor table. "You have to love those four." Evan said with a small smirk in the direction of his friends. If they could even be called friends. Slytherins weren't known for their loyalty. "God knows they take away the stares being sent out way."

Barty nodded in agreement. "Have to feel bad for you Regulus." When the youngest Black sent him a look of almost confusion he jerked his head towards the group. "Being stuck with someone like him for a brother. Must be horrible to have to hear his crap beliefs."

Regulus didn't say anything. Him and Sirius… they were nothing. They had to love one another, they were brothers. But they certainly didn't have to like each other.

They never did talk.

"_It's a dramatic shift for my character. He has put away the hatred for his brother - the sibling rivalry, the envy. At the core of him is respect for what he knows Sonny to be, and the subtext that he can save his brother." Rick Hearst_

In the end Regulus turns on Lord Voldemort. And that's all that really matters. Because in the end Regulus decides that he's going to save his brother. He's going to make a difference.

Regulus orders Kretcher not to come after him after he finds out about the Dark Lord's split soul. Kretcher doesn't follow. And as he lies dying he remembers.

Regulus is three and Sirius is five. Their mother is out of the house, as usual and their father is sitting at the top of the stairs in his study. The door is shut tight, signaling, to both of them, not to enter. They were playing on the floor, both of them rolling the ball towards one another and giggling when the ball would roll off course.

Regulus was five and Sirius was seven. They were stuck at a family function, both of them avoiding all of their cousins. They didn't want to be around them. Not when they had each other.

Regulus was seven and Sirius was nine. It was his birthday and Sirius had given him a very special present. The elder Black looked eagerly as Regulus inspected the Dark doll he made him. "Thank you! Thank you!" Regulus had sprung up out of his seat on the floor and wrapped his brother in a hug, steadily ignoring the disgusted look their parents sent them.

Regulus was eight and Sirius was ten. "Can you make me a doll Sirius?"

Regulus was nine and Sirius was eleven. "That's Dark, Reg! It's evil! I don't want anything to do with evil!"

Regulus was ten and Sirius was twelve. "James and Remus and I… we have a bond Reg. That bond you'll never be able to be a part of if you're here."

Regulus was eleven and Sirius was thirteen. "You'll love them! Promise. And even if you're not in Gryffindor I'll always look after you."

Regulus was twelve and Sirius was fourteen. "He's not my brother anymore, James. You are."

Regulus was thirteen and Sirius was fifteen. "I'm sorry, all right! I'm sorry that you changed, Regulus."

Regulus was fourteen and Sirius was sixteen. "I can't stand this place anymore."

Regulus was fifteen and Sirius was seventeen. "Once you graduate you can come live with me, okay Reggie?"

Regulus was sixteen and Sirius was eighteen. "Where is he, Regulus? Where's my brother?"

Regulus was seventeen and Sirius was nineteen. "So you've got yourself even farther into this crap hole. Great job Reg. Now I'll have to dig you out."

Regulus was eighteen and Sirius was twenty. It was raining. "I'm sorry, Sirius."

"For what?" Sirius had been confused.

"For everything." Regulus had taken a deep breath. "But I'll do it. I'll make things better. I promise."

"Reg-"

"I don't break my promises, Sirius." He had been ready to walk away from him, even going as far as to turn his back on him. But Regulus stopped. "Can you do me a favor, Siri?"

"Sure…"

"Can you make me a doll, Siri?" Regulus didn't wait for his answer.

_"If thy brother wrongs thee, remember not so much his wrong-doing, but more than ever that he is thy brother." –Epictetus_

**A:N-** It was good… until the end. The end, my readers, is what happens when a person loses interest in writing a story.


End file.
